ABSTRACT
The major uses of molecular markers in agricultural research are related to estimating the genetic relationships between populations within species, establishing and managing gene banks, studying gene flow from domesticated populations to wild relatives, and estimating and monitoring the effective population size. One of the initial molecular methods for varietal identification of sugarcane cultivars has been in the development of isozymes and Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) are the original Polymerase chain reaction-based DNA marker, and are relatively easy to use, rapid, moderately reliable, and dominant and suited for efficient nonradioactive DNA fingerprinting of genotypes. Simple sequence repeats are the most frequent DNA markers used for fingerprinting and have been developed for use in sugarcane. Mapping of single gene traits are relatively easy and thus far two single major gene traits, eyespot susceptibility and rust resistance, have been mapped in sugarcane.
